Paper-drying apparatus.



N0. 662,l87. Patented Nov. 20, I900.

's. A CDPENHAFER.

PAPER DRYING APPARATUS.

(Application filed May 9, 1900.)

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No. 662,l87. Patented Nov. 20, I900.

S. A. COPENHAFEB.

PAPER DRYING APPARATUS.

(Applicdtion filed May 9, 1900.)

(no Model.) 5 SheetsSheet 2.

$1 wuenfoz (1 3mm up "In: mums PCTERS co. PNOYO-LlTHO" WASHINGTON. n.0.,

.No. 662,|87. Patented Nov. 20, I900.

S. A. COPENHAFER.

PAPER DRYING APPARATUS. (Applipstion filed May 9, 1900.) (No Model.)

' 5 -Shae fs-Shet 3.

No. 662,!87. PatentedNov. 20, I900. S. A. CO'PENHAFER.

PAPER DRYING APPARATUS.

(Applicatidn filed May 9, 1900.)

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Patented Nov. 20, I900. S. A. CUPENHAFER.

PAPER DRYING APPARATUS.

(Application filed my 9, 1900.) (No Mudel.)

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W I] I I J M,

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' abbznup Unwrap STATES ATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN A. COPENHAFER, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT ANDMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN MCCOY AND \V. F.

BAY STEWART, OF SAME PLACE.

PAPER-DRYING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 662,187, dated November20, 1900.

Application filed May 9, 1900. Serial No. 16,098. (No model- To callwhom it ntcty concern.-

Be it known that I, STEPHEN A. COPENHA- FER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at York, in the county of York and State ofPennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomatic Hanging- Up Machines for Paper or other Fabrics, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for drying paper or fabric incontinuous strips, and more particularly to machines for dryingwall-paper as it comes from the printing-machines. It has been customaryto hang the paper in a series of loops upon laths'which are moved stepby step on elevated ways or supports carrying the loops of paper oversteampipes or other means for supplying heated air. These laths havegenerally been rectangular and are fragile, and a great deal of expenseand delay has been incurred by the breakage of laths and stoppage ofmachines. The present invention permits the use of round sticks in placeof the laths, and the sticks are so handled that breakage is practicallyimpossible. A great saving in paper and sticks is thereby efiected andmuch valuable time of the machines heretofore lost is saved.

The invention will now be particularly described, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1 and 1 constitute togethera side view of a complete machine embodying my invention, parts beingbroken away to show some of theinterior mechanism. Fig. 2 is an end Viewof the stick-feeding machine. Fig. 3 is a side view of the same. Fig. 4is a central sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 4 is asection of the support and guide for the upper member of thecarrying-chain shown in Fig. 4, and Fig. 5 is a perspective viewillustrating the devices for lifting the sticks from the chain.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 1*, P indicates the strip or web of paperwhich travels in the direction of the arrows as it comes from theprinting machinery. The paper is caught in loops upon sticks S andcarried, by means of chains, slowly over steam-pipes or other apparatussuitable for driving off the moisture.

The present invention relates to means for handling the sticks, whichwill now be described, beginning with the hopper or box in which anumber of sticks are stored.

The stick-feeding machine, which is particularly shown in Figs. 2, 3,and 4, comprises the following parts mounted on asuitable frame 10: Atthe upper part of the frame is supported a hopper 1], having two movablebottom sections 12, which are hinged near their outer edges to rods 13,supported on suitable arms or brackets 14. The bottom sections 12 arerocked alternately upon their pivots 13, said sections when in theirlowest position forming a continuation of the inclined bottom 15 of thehopper.

The sticks I preferably use are round in cross-section and constructedof some suitable hard wood. These sticks are kept parallel in the hopperand rode back and forth by the movable bottom sections over the cen- 7otral opening between the sections and one by one the ends of the sticksdrop in between guides 16 in the end frame of the machine, the sticksforming a parallel series between said guides, as shown clearly in Fig.4. The bottom sections may be oscillated by any suitable mechanism. Asshown, they are connected by links 17 to straps surrounding eccentrics18 upon a rotating shaft 19, Fig. 2.

Below the guides 16 are oscillating arms 20, which, as shown, areloosely mounted on the shaft 19. The arms 20 are rocked by means ofconnecting-rods 21, which are reciprocated by links 22 on arotatingcrank-shaft 23. On the ends of the arms 20 are circular segments 24,which support the sticks in the guides 16 while one of the sticks isbeing fed to the lower stick-carrier chain. Pivoted on the rear ends ofthe segments 24 at points 25 are a pair of delivery-levers 26. Each of 0these levers has at its upper end a shorter finger 27 and a longerfinger 28, said fingers being adapted to receive between them the loweststick in the guides 16. The lower ends of the delivery-levers 26 areprovided 5 with slots 29, through which pass stationary pivot-pins 30.These pins are carried in slots in the ends of arms or brackets 31,which are adjust-ably bolted to the frame 10, Fig. 3, the said arm beingprovided with slots 32, which permit of vertical adjustment.

The sticks are delivered one at a time at 1 properlyupon the horizontalcarrier-chains regular intervals to the lower carrier-chains 34, whichpass around the sprocket-wheels 33 at the delivery end of the apparatusand the chain-wheels 35 at the receiving end. These chains carrybrackets or arms 36 at regular intervals, and the movements of thestick-feed devices are timed to deliver a stick in front of each pair ofarms as they rise to the upper side of the wheels 33, as shownparticularly in Fig. 1. The returning lower member of the chain 34 issupported upon a series of loosely-mou nted sprocket-wheels 37, each ofwhich has a gap 38 in its periphery in place of one ofthe teeth topermit the brackets 36 to pass.

The operation of the device as thus far described is as follows: Thesticks are dropped into the hopper continuously by devices to bedescribed hereinafter. The bottom sections 12 are worked up and down andthe sticks rolled or fed into the vertical guides 16, which guidesengage only the ends of the sticks. When the arms 20 are in theirrearward po sition, as shown in Fig. 4, the lowermost stick in theguides drops below the ends of I the guides in between the fingers ofthe carrier-levers 26. The arms 20 are then rocked forward, carrying thelowest stick downward to the sprocket-wheels 33, the circular segments24 in the meantime supporting the remaining sticks in the guides.The.fixed pivot 30 is so adjusted as to bring the fingers 28 into aposition su bstantially tangential to the sprocket-wheels 33, and whilesaid fingers are in their lowest position a pair of brackets 36 on thecarrier-chains 34 take the stick from the fingers and carry it along tothe other end of the apparatus. The upper members of the carrier-chains34 rest upon continuous supporting planks or plates 39, which arepreferably grooved to guide the chains. The sticks are prevented frommoving endwise while being transported by flanges 40. Provision is madefor adjusting the ends of the chain-supports 39, so that they may beadapted to difierent sizes of sprocket-wheels 33. As shown, the ends ofthe supports are carried by bolts 41, which are adjustable in slots 42in fixed brackets 43. At the receiving end of the machine the sticks areraised from the chain 34 by inclined or Wedge-shaped plates 44, whichbring them up into the paths of brackets 45 on an inclined chain 46.Gravity-pawls 47 prevent the sticks from dropping back on the chains 34,and as the brackets 45 engage the sticks the latter are carried aroundthe lower sprocket-wheels 48, between the chains 46 and fixed curvedguides 49. As the sticks travel up on the upper member of the chain 46the web of paper is delivered to them in loops, as shown in Fig. 1 thepaper being 1 chains.

they are carried down to the hopper 11.

brought to this point by any suitable means, such as the conveyer-belt50. The conveyorchains 46 travel rapidly and the velocity imparted tothe sticks would cause them to be thrown from the chains as they passaround the upper sprocket-wheels and not landed 51 if means were notprovided to restrain the sticks from improper movement. To accomplishthis, I provide just above the sprockets 52 loosely-mounted devices,which serve to keep the sticks on their chains without impeding theirproper movement with said As shown, these devices consist of a pair oftoothed wheels 53, carried by pivoted rocker-arms 54, the lower teeth ofsaid wheels resting upon or being close to the chains 46 and 51. Thesticks strike the lower teeth of the wheel 53, and their velocity ischecked from the high speed of the chains 46 to the lower speed of thechains 51, the sticks at the same time being kept in contact with thechains and at right angles thereto. These loosely-mounted wheels orchecking devices I have found very valuable and, in fact, essential tothe use of round sticks in this class of machinery. From the chains 51the sticks carrying the loops of paper are delivered to chains 55, andwhen they reach the delivery ends ofthe chains 55 they are pushed alongon fixed guides 56. The paper is pulled off of the sticks on the guides56 byany suitable mechanism, and the'sticks are delivered to a pair ofnotched or toothed wheels 57, by which A pair of arms 58, carried by thehopper, raise the sticks from the notches 59 in the wheels 57 anddeliver them into the hopper.

It will be evident that various changes in the mechanical details of themachinery heretofore described may be eifected without departing fromthe spirit and scope of my invention. For instance, it is to beunderstood that various kinds of belts may be substituted for the chainsillustrated and described.

Equivalent devices may also be substituted for said sticks below thehopper, two movable sections in the bottom of the hopper adjacent to theguides, means for moving said sections to direct the sticks into theguides, and means for delivering the sticks successively from the guidesto thecarryin g devices.

2. In a drying apparatus of the class described, the combination of ahopper having two pivoted rocking sections in the bottom thereof,vertical guides for the sticks, means for rocking the sections todeliver the sticks i to said guides, and means for delivering the stickssuccessively from the lower ends of the guides to carrying devices.

3. In a drying apparatus of the class described, the combination of ahopper for sticks, guides for said sticks extending downward from themiddle of the hopper, a pivoted bottom section in the hopper on eachside of said guides, said sections being separated to permit the sticksto enter the guides, and means for rocking said sections alternately todirect the sticks into the guides.

4. In a drying apparatus of the class described,the combination withcarrying-chains, of a hopper for sticks, arms having circular segmentsadapted to support the sticks in the hopper during the rocking of thearms, levers pivoted to said arms and arranged to rock about fixedpivotal points, devices on said levers adapted to receive and carry astick, and means for rocking the arms to carry successive sticks fromthe hopper to the carryingchains.

5. In a drying apparatus of the class described, the combination withthe stick-hopper, and the guides below said hopper into which the sticksare directed, of the rocking arms having segments adapted to support thesticks in said guides, the carrying-levers pivoted near their upper endsto said segments, the fingers on the upper ends of said levers adaptedto receive a stick from the guides, slots in the lower ends of thelevers, and fixed bolts passing through said slots.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of thecarrying-chains, the adjustable supports for the upper members of saidchains, the stick-hopper, the rocking arms having supporting-segments,the stickthe combination of the stick-hopper, the lower stick-carryingchains, means for feeding the sticks successively from the hopper to thechains,means for transferring the sticks to the uppercarrying-chains,and the toothed wheels adapted to deliver the sticks tothe hopper.

8. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with thelower carryingchains, and the inclined carrying-chains, of the inclines44 for lifting the sticks from the lower chains,the pawls 47 forpreventing backward movement of said sticks, and the guides 49, for thepurpose set forth.

9. In an apparatus of the class'described, the combination with theinclined carryingchains, of the freely-movable toothed wheelsconstituting yielding stops for the sticks, said wheels being located tointercept the sticks as they are delivered from theinclined chains.

10. In an apparatus of the class described,

the combination with stick-carrying chains.

having a rapid movement, and stick-carrying chains having a slowermovement, of yielding stops arranged to intercept the sticks asthey aredelivered from the rapidlynoving chains to the slowly-moving chains, andprevent the disarrangement of the sticks due to their n10- mentum.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses,

STEPHEN A. OOPENHAFER.

Witnesses:

O. W. KELLER, O. K. BINDER.

